The Lone Wolf II: Let the Games Continue
by YingYang13
Summary: Cato and Katniss survived the 74th Hunger Games. Snow was not happy and sent his guards to kill one of them off. it was stopped, apparently by a rebel ship that docked the Capitol's aircraft had done it. The two victor's narrowly escaped by Katniss's helpful friend, Gale Hawthorne. However Snow's anger grew and wiped off District 12 from the map. War has begun. (Sequel to TLW)
1. Chapter 1

**The Lone Wolf II: Let the Games Continue **

**By:YingYang13**

**One** month later, District 12 is now a smoking wasteland. The ones who survived the burning upheaval are now refugees and soldiers in District 13. However, other Districts including District 2 are intact but crumbling. Cato had to sit out the immensely long war footage in _Command_.

He was bored to death. Cato gets the idea, yes there's a war going on and yes he's on District 13's side. To subdue his boredom, he got up to parch his thirst. A few heads turn by the loud scrape of his chair but shrugged it off to watch the rest of the footage.

His stupid therapist recommended that he needs herbal tea, to 'calm down'. Cato scoffed, there's nothing wrong with him…well except the nightmares. He shrugged and drinks the stuff while a cheese bagel caught his eye; he raised his eyebrow and devoured it.

"Solider Anderson, have you decided yet?"

Cato stunned round, his mouth agape. He glanced around the room to acknowledge the speaker. It was Alma Coin, who's staring at him impatiently. The air was tense between solider and president since she dislike him because there was nothing special about him...just another mouth to feed.

"Decide?" Cato said hoarsely, the cheese bagel still rolling round in his jaw. He gulped awkwardly and won't look at Coin in the eye. She closed her eyes for about two seconds and explained to him with frustration by his lack of listening skills.

"We need more men at the front, Solider Anderson. And you're more familiar with the district,"

"I disagree, Cato is more at use here than fighting in the front lines," Gale objected, straightening his posture to become more important.

"So you assume, Solider Hawthorne that he's the Mockingjay?" Coin injected, pointing out at Cato with mere sarcasm. Suddenly, a fist hurled at the hard wood, everyone's heads turned to the spoke person. "No, he's the enabler and the love interest to the real Mockingjay," Haymitch stated, standing up to almost everyone who grabbed interest.

"And it's too dangerous for him to go back to his District; Solider Everdeen would not forgive us," Gale concluded, crossing his arms.

"Look, I'll say something here...she's not going to be the Mockingjay, that pin she wore was a mere coincidence not a symbol of war," Cato proclaimed, his russet eyes looking coldly to anyone who'd think differently. Haymitch returned to his seat, relieved that the two boys are on their side.

"She won't be in right state of mind, what happened in District 12 had already-"

"Already what Cato?" said the familiar but harsh voice. Cato turned to the open door, shocked and surprised to see...

Katniss? She paused to look at him coldly and turn to the rest of the rebel confused faces. Her mouth was dry but she knew what to do. "-I'll do it, I'll be the Mockingjay," she spoke defiantly and step in the dull orange light of the conference table.

Her braid was sleek and shiny again after days of being hospitalised. The bags under her eyes were gone and the scars had vanished like new sheets of paper. She shares no real emotion emitting her pale features. The damage was done when President Snow pulled out...what he called 'weeds' to his clean and beautiful garden.

Now her dear mother is now the ashes, still smoking with the others of her homeland. "Solider Everdeen, glad that the ward already discharged you," said Alma Coin, puncturing this stunned silence.

Katniss didn't acknowledge her greeting; she began staring at everyone in the room. Cato saw fire burning in her grey seam eyes. They're not the same ones, he once gazed. Cato responded to Gale's scepticism on Katniss's cold judgment.

"What are your demands?" addressed Plutarch Heavensbee, sitting in the corner with a hard-looking commander. Katniss looked surprised; she didn't suspect the job to have conditions or benefits for matter. She found her voice again and said with unforgiving vengeance;

"I kill President Snow..."

* * *

**Months Later**

**The** outer skirts of the Capitol are crawling with mechanical spiders, polluting and spit fire within a twenty metre radius. According to Boggs, you got to watch out for the stingers. Once it pierced in your skin, it can kill the poor bastard instantly.

That's why the only way to get into the city is the underground tunnel. Cato saw many military men and women go in there and come out with few in numbers.

Two nights of this though, the squad lost some sympathy to the unfortunate deaths. Only two of them got better and transferred to Squad 451. Cato can see they were displeased or remote with the others.

Cato didn't blame them; Squad 451 had to stay where they are until Coin and Plutarch say differently.

"They probably get bored of us; doing nothing except faking that we attacked enemy lines," Gale shrugged, carving doodles on some rock with his knife. He looked over where the camera crew took some close-ups of the crumbling city buildings and live fires.

"Yeah, but they don't want the precious Mockingjay to get hurt, right," Cato mumbled for only Gale's ears.

Katniss glared over by the crackling bonfire. Gale exchanged a sharp grimace over at Katniss's end for some forgiveness. "You got to stop mouthing off, Cato." Gale whispered.

"Why should I, the one I know now is nothing but a corrupt solider-" Cato replied loudly, crossing his arms. Katniss got up, her hands scrunched into fists while her eyes narrowed in to slits. Quick as a flash, Gale escorted Cato forcibly by a muddy river bank. Gale double checked the area to make sure they're not overheard.

"I know things are not the same with Katniss since her mom died," Gale reminded him.

"Well, she shouldn't try taking the coward's way out," Cato retorted, a few stray tears leaked his face. "She's still alive isn't she? Is that all you could ask for..." said Gale, reasonably. Cato had a desperate urge to hit Gale for being so right all the time.

"But the girl over there hates me and thought I murdered Peeta, how come the morphling overdose could do that?" Cato demanded for some closure from Gale. He didn't answer. Cato's voice cracked when he dismally whispered. "What's the point, I can't get her to know me without opening the old wounds."

Silence filled the gaps between Cato and Gale. Now and then bombs and gunfire where heard at a long distance away. "Look out there, we're fighting to guarantee a better world, she should deserve a second chance as much as you do." Gale registered him sternly.

"And to win over her heart but it takes more than beefiness and being skilled with a sword that can take me on." He shrugged with a comical humour about him.

Cato let out a scoff. "What're you going to do? Plant mousetraps under the ground?" He teased back but stopped.

Gale's grin had faltered when they heard Boggs with some important announcement. Gale and Cato joined the rest of the squad by campfire when Boggs have the news they're all waiting for.

"Tomorrow Morning, Squad 451 is needed at the front urgently with Coin's urgent regards." No one seemed to make any adequate responses except for the two men who are ready to take it in their stride. Cato felt differently, it's like the games all over again except he'd see his friends and comrades die by the cold-blooded hands of the enemy. He didn't dare look at Katniss in the eye; he knew this would be too painful.

Words like _she's still alive _or _second chances _had repeated in his head like a broken record. _"Thanks Hawthorne (!)"_ Cato thinks, glumly. He looked at her as much as he possibly can without reducing to tears. Katniss looked over to him for a second without a glare.

He turned away before she could scowl so he could have this reassuring and solitary moment that she didn't wish him dead...


	2. Chapter 2

The Lone Wolf II: Let the Games Continue

By: YingYang13

**About** quarter to six as the sun barely rose from crumbling city grounds; Cato and squad 451 travelled through the deserted streets. All are fully clad with body armour as guns propped and loaded in their arms while glass crunched beneath their boots.

The whole area was jumbled with rubbish, broken-down cars and occasionally... dried human flesh. Cato saw one of the gulls, fighting over it and squawked repeatedly. He grimaced and reached for the hilt of his sword. "Look over there," Gale whispered, pointing at this odd purplish goo. "Gross man, don't forget we're fighting at this war," said Cato, frowned upon at the gluey substance on his boot.

"I know, this must be the previous ones that killed off the entire troop when they set out here," Gale muttered as though he's telling a bedtime story.

"Soldiers Anderson and Hawthorne fall back to your previous positions," Boggs ordered. The two rushed back to their squad, camera's now rolling by Cressida and her team. They formed a circle, following what Boggs have to say.

"We almost reached the battle grounds," He informed them lightly. Finnick nodded to agree, polishing his trident. Jackson stared at them all with a brave and smug face. "When we set over there, you have to remember we're fighting back and won't stop till we get what's rightfully ours,"

Leeg 1 wiped her mouth with her arm, indecisive on how she feels. Katniss rested her gun at an acute angle, close to her heart while her face is set on determination.

As always, Cato detested the corrupt and revengeful Katniss. Gale plucked the sleek tail feathers of his arrows while Mitchell and Homes arch their guns now ready in place. Boggs double checked his Holo and gave his second commander the signal.

"Move out 451," She ordered while the squad trekked the scattered blood and mess of those two streets. Battle cries echoed among them as Cato stared around the tall buildings for enemy snipers.

He felt like he was a sitting duck in this narrow dark alley space.

Katniss suddenly shared Gale a different demeanour, she quaked and starts to hyperventilate. Cato caught that and looked away in stupid shame. _"Why does he have to be always right?!" _Cato speculated bitterly when Gale cupped his hands on her face.

Without warning, gunfire and whistles of bombs reached their ears. Knowing this is far too real to not back down now. Dumb and Dumber (What Cato calls the two other soldier's) looked more motivated than nervous. Katniss formed a very uncharacteristic war face.

Mitchell and Homes were out first, crouching down by the wrecked barricade and spread gun fire at the muttations. Leeg 1, Jackson and Denver were second to attack...throwing state of the art hand grenades at the enemy trenches. Dumb and Dumber ran towards no mans land and avoided the activated pods. They jumped in the trench to gun down the enemies

"Weapons ready, Star squad," announced Boggs, swiping the trigger of his riffle. Cato slings his gun on his back and instead wrench out his Hi-Tech Sword. Gale rolled his eyes at him.

"Show off," Finnick muttered dryly and hoist his trident. Katniss didn't show anything that is at all witty or show any empathy. Cato avoided looking at her altogether and kept his eyes on the battle field.

Boggs as their leader, he led the star squad towards the empty trench and fire at the enemy lines. An arrowwas shot in the head and...

_BOOM!_

Another trench was destroyed and collapsed on the leftover war foes. "Nice one, girl on fire..." Cato muttered, still wowed at her target skills the day she shot that airborne eagle back at the games. Katniss glared at him. Inside her mind, she was still unsure if it was compliment or trick?

The other soldier's caught up with them, faces bright under all the grey filth. Cato didn't enhance his ghostly smirk; he feared something is still wrong. He stumbled at one of the dead and stared closer at the opened mouth solider. He had no tongue.

"Settle down, soldiers...something is not right!" said Boggs in high suspicion.

Cato quaked a little when he's about to remove the soldier's helmet. He made an inaudible gasp. "They're Avoxes!" said Cato, out loud at his crew. The Squad stared at him, confused and doubtful. But for Katniss, she did not believe him.

"Oh Please, Snow wouldn't waste Avoxes for his army," Katniss sneered at him. "Not for this army...for a trap," Cato answered back. He felt awkward and angry at the whirr of Cressida's video camera. Boggs stared at him for the truth, Cato stared fully back. Boggs nodded cagily, removed the helmets of the dead mass.

All red hair and tongues removed. He stepped on a mound and look fiercely at his troop. "Soldiers, this is not only Snow's doing but Coin's-"

From nowhere, a rain of bullets hit the air and split through his neck as he fell first to the ground. Everything was a blur in Cato's eyes; Homes the Medic wrapped a bandage around Boggs' neck as fast as he could. Cat could hear a sick, gargling sound coming from him.

"We have to get to shelter now, we're losing too much blood," Homes shouted over the gunfire. Jackson pushed Leeg 1, Denver and Mitchell towards the other path which leads back to their checkpoint. "Where's Solider Marion and Kelly!" Jackson yelled. No one answered except for Gale.

"I saw them, a split second but tripped on an activated pod," said Gale, solemnly.

Homes got out a needle of his medical kit and jabbed it gently to Boggs neck. His eyelids flickered and closed. Cato thought he's dead by the sympathy of the needle. No, he was still breathing and the blood flow ceased. "Carry him, won't you..." Homes muttered. Cato nodded and lugged him on his back. Gunfire was still sounded as he followed Gale, Katniss and Finnick through the shortcut.

They finally docked in a dark ally, panting and aching so hard. Homes and Jackson was the last to arrive. "It's crawling with Mutts now..." Homes admitted to the troop. "How is he," spoke Mitchell.

"I slowed the injury for just a bit, Boggs was right about one thing..." Homes sighed. "How long does he have before you can operate him?" Leeg 1 imparted, sombrely. Cato shared the same question the squad have about Boggs.

"An hour...but with the lack on Nanocrystals I have on me,"

"But a smidge of it can do enough, right," said Cato, positive on this one. "But so many layers were wrecked that there are not much skin cells to renew," he explained thoroughly. Cato can see through his eyes there is nothing he could do. _He knew _in his head this was his fault somehow. If Boggs didn't trust him...it would be Cato on that mound with that hacked neck.

He jumped suddenly, almost forgot that Boggs is still on his back. The whole gang looked shocked and terrified to see Boggs opening his eyes. He said something but it was incoherent and a lot of wheezing. _"The Holo,"_

Cato pulled out the thing from the cold feverish flesh. _"Jackson..." _he wheezed. Jackson approached and tips her ear to his long wheezes. "Boggs is unfit for command, I Jackson...second commander will transfer the prime security clearance to squad four-five-one soldiers...What!-"

Jackson looked shocked but the right word is pissed off. Boggs repeated of the two soldiers names while Jackson spoke up again, gritting her teeth. "To Cato Anderson and Katniss Everdeen..."


	3. Chapter 3

**The Lone Wolf II: Let The Games Continue **

**By: yingyang13**

Chapter Three

**Reluctantly** from Jackson's hands, she handed the Holo in Cato's hand. He hesitantly placed his eye over the thing and muttered his full name. This green light captured him; he couldn't move or blink because that didn't matter to him. When it finished scanning him, it was now Katniss's turn. He blinked again to realise that Boggs wasn't on his back anymore. He's on the ground, body against the wall but briefly alive.

Cato knelt beside him, his face washed with guilt. "Listen to me," Boggs wheezed. Cato didn't speak though he intended to listen. "Protect the Squad, Go with your gut instinct and _kill_ Snow before she does,"

Eyebrows furrowing, Cato tried to figure out why he should kill Snow if it was the Mockingjay's Job. Boggs wasn't finished as he looked at him with pure secrecy.

"_75122, _remember it and let it remain your secret…Protect her too, solider," said Boggs. Cato nodded to comprehend the matter. Boggs blinked at his one moment with a lingering smile. And at the next, he's gone. Cato had gently shut his eyelids. Homes had put his two fingers over Boggs's wounded neck to indicate his time of death.

The unbearable moment had circulated the Squadron. They grieved. Cato stood up, staring at the blood-stained body now covered by a white sheet. _"What do these people expect me to do? I'm not like him…"_

"Prepare and move out," Cato spoke out, his back still turned away from the Squad. He paused again to hear any objection from Katniss since she's the Commander too. She glared but nodded to agree with his action. "You heard him, let's go!" she yelled.

"Oh and to where…I think you two should give me the Holo," said Jackson, gun cocked and slammed on Cato's head.

Leeg 1 prepared her firearm at Finnick for defending Katniss with his trident. Cressida and her crew had picked a bloody goodtime rolling the footage now. Gale scowled at Jackson for being stupid and couldn't get off her high horse to be in charge.

"Don't give it to her, Katniss…Tell them about your plan!" Gale exclaimed. Katniss's eyes widened but she remained cool and calm about this. "Oh yes, tell us about your plan, _Commander_," Jackson claimed mockingly.

"Me and Cato are chosen for this special mission that Coin had appointed and it will violate her orders if you try to stop us," Katniss replied, staring at Jackson with such bravery.

"On what grounds, what are your special mission guys," Jackson jeered. Cato kept his eye on the gun at his forehead, he itched to slice her hand off with his sword but she's still the ally.

"To assassinate President Snow," said Cato, casually. The Squad paused for a moment. Mitchell and Denver exchanged doubtful looks. Yet on some outcome it made them see sense…Well except for Jackson.

"I don't believe you, I'm still your currant commander and you should hand me the prime security clearance to me, Now…" Jackson demanded impatiently.

"No, this was handed to us because we are the only hope to assassinate him and we will bring peace," Katniss stated firmly. "That's true," said Cressida, smoothly.

"That's why we're here, Plutarch wants this televised, and he thinks having the Mockingjay and the Wolf to finish him will end the War,"

Before Jackson could rally on this debate, heavy gunshots are sounded at the distance. Cato could've sworn he heard wolves howling to. He shook it off and moved away from Jackson. "We have to go now and I'm following the _current_ commanders," said Gale as he stood beside them.

"Your move, Commander Everdeen," said Cato, respectfully. Katniss acknowledged him stiffly as she lead the Star Squad to shelter and settle in an empty apartment five streets away.

* * *

**Every **squad member had now taken shifts to guard the door and wedged moisten towels under it to not let the harmful gel-like substance in. Jackson is upstairs with Mitchell, tapping phone lines and hacking T.V channels to see their propos for updates.

Cressida and Pollex are in the kitchen, whipping up sandwiches. Gale and Finnick are on the tacky hearthrug, making snares and swap stories of their districts. Leeg 1 is having a kip on the couch, knife in her hand.

Cato is by the boarded up window, thinking over the death of Boggs and his leadership to the squad. _"75122, what could that be?"_ he thinks, trying to figure out this puzzling number.

"Anderson, I finished my shift," muttered Denver, moving towards Cato. He patted Denver on the shoulder and stood guard. Cato paused to realise that Katniss was sitting halfway across the stairs, concealed in the darkness.

She glared at him, wondering what is his real intentions are as she rolled up the Holo. "_Is he working with Snow or Coin?" _she thinks. Cato sighed, thinking he has to get on some solid ground with her, even if she has this warped amnesia. "Listen, Everdeen..."

Katniss didn't answer him. He took it as some sort of sign and resumed on talking. "I think we don't exactly see eye to eye on things,"

She scoffed. "You think, you killed Peeta and you parade around 13 like you want to help, what makes everyone so sure you're on our side?"

Cato grimaced, wishing she hadn't said about the false predicament of Peeta's death. He spoke the honest recurring truth. "I did not kill him, it was the impact of a minefield in the games...Peeta was impaled by the Cornucopia,"

"Going back to that again, you did it...I saw you," Katniss sneered. She thinks that story is old hat every time he tells it.

Cato did what Katniss unsuspected to see, he was crying. He moved back and forth in his chair as he smothered his face with his hands. Katniss was sure it was crocodile tears but she knew it wasn't. It had linked to her memory of her dad's funeral.

She felt a bit bad and come down the stairs. "Anderson, please stop..." she spoke feebly. Cato shook his head. "No, I wish I didn't move, killing those Mutts...He'd still be there," he sobbed quietly. Katniss paused; one of the miners had said something like that at her dad's funeral. "Pull yourself together, solider...we're at war,"

Cato gulped and wiped his eyes but his face still glazed with grief. "Look I don't exactly trust you, Anderson or your story because I'm still picking up the pieces,"

He nodded understandably. "But if it changed you, maybe...just maybe I let some things go,"

Katniss left him to do his shift while Cato stand guard, winding the barrel of his hand gun as he watched her leave at the corner of his eye.

* * *

**It** wasn't till the early next morning they had left the apartment. Katniss, Cato and Jackson had muse over the plan to get to the rendezvous point for the possibility of Operation Black. Gale pointed out that they should go under radar to give the element of surprise.

Meaning the Squad should go into the underground tunnel. Katniss wasn't so keen about tunnels and the complete darkness. Cato agreed with Gale and mentioned on the Holo that there could be hot spots of mutt activity. Therefore, the Squad have hi-tech grenades that only explode if any unnatural activity was moving.

All faces shielded with air masks, Cato, Katniss and Jackson are at the front. They led the soldiers through this poisonous gunk. Cressida and her team are behind Cato and Katniss, reeling the footage. "D'you think we're one step ahead of Snow?" Mitchell whispered to Gale. Gale shrugged his shoulders. "Unlikely, Snow's security had been delayed with his lethal storm last night and it stopped as soon as we head out,"

"He's probably ten minutes behind us, trying to track our whereabouts," Mitchell had put in thoughtfully. "So we should move faster and not let him catch up to us," Katniss struggled out loud in her mask.

The Holo now beeped slowly in the hands of Katniss. She can make out that the trail is cold and guide her fellow comrades to another alleyway.

It's eerily quiet in there. All she can hear is her loud breathing through her gas mask. Cato took his turn to examine the Holo for triple-checking their ongoing route. It beeped rapidly and locate that they're three streets away from the tunnel.

When they got to their destination, something didn't sit right with the squad as they stand on the gel-covered manhole. Cato's neck prickled, hand flinched to the rifle in his holster. Katniss stretched her bow, Jackson cocked her firearm. The rest raised their weapons randomly at the air.

Next, this tall and upright creature had emerged from the fiery wreckage, watching them with this yellow pinprick eyes. The fire didn't burn the beast as it gave this bloodcurdling screech.

Cato and his squad are too terrified to move. He never had seen anything like this in his life.

Suddenly, the bloodcurdling screech turned to words. _"Katniss," _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**A **chill ran up Katniss's spine while her hands are fumbling on her bow. The others too had suffered a chill as the monster prowled closer. Before Katniss can fire the arrow, Cato steps in her way while shielding her with his sword.

"Anderson, what're you doing?" she hissed, forcing him away.

Alarmingly, the skeletal monster did not move as though it was waiting to pounce. "Protect The Mockingjay!" Cato roared at Squad 451. Followed his instructions, The Squad prepared their firearms.

Gale and Finnick are in the front, exchanging firm grimaces.

"I can handle it everyone, get back behind me!" Katniss ordered. Mitchell and Leeg 1 look back at her but did not move. The rest however had watched the monster cautiously but did not look directly at those sickly yellow eyes.

"No Commander Katniss, we don't want the fugly thing killing you that easy...D'you hear that mutt, you have to go through me!" said Cato, talking furiously at the Mutt.

"Shhh, Anderson doesn't rile it!" said Jackson through clenched teeth.

But the monster didn't understand him; Cato had some instinct that it was deaf. The Skeletal Monster moved but had bent her supple legs. At once, Leeg 1 and Jackson had fired their rifles at the Mutt.

The Mutt moved a step back, stunned but outrageously angry. The Mutt snarled and suddenly leapt through the air that estimated about ten metres before it will crash down towards the squadron.

Without thinking about it, Katniss and Gale had shot their explosive arrows at it.

Like a star before it becomes a black hole, The Mutt had imploded as big parts of the flesh rained down on them.

"Eugrh!" Leeg 1 cringed. "Grow up Leeg 1," Jackson scowled. The green gunk drizzled in Katniss's signature plait. Disgruntled, she squeezes out the extra slime off her hair. Gale sighed in relief and wiped off the slime on his brow.

Cato inspected the fat fleshy tissue on the ground with his gun. His face slowly calculates in doubt. "This can't be it," Cato whispered. He checked the Holo and told Homes to carefully sample the flesh and put it in the disk.

Closed it, The Holo slowly analyze the sample. "Commander Anderson, What're you doing?" asked Katniss, face set in speculation. Cato didn't respond at first but answered the question. However, it didn't make sense to Katniss.

Someone was watching her and she forgot to realise that her Squad are waiting for command. She turned to them and said:

"Jackson can you lead the Squad underground and position firearms with caution,"

Jackson willingly led them though Gale and the camera team joined a circle with their Commanders. The Holo completed the scanning and emerged with writing;

Name: _Nferno Dweller _

_The Nferno Dweller is a newly experimented Mutation_

_That was cancelled to participate in the Seventy-Forth Hunger Games_

_Because they gave a sickly imitation of a human being_

_The Tester's scrapped the Nferno Dweller until they can approve a more adjustable batch_

_And it was rumoured that they experimented on Avox's but this Humanlike Origin is still unknown _

_Although the animal that got mixed in the experiment is a scaly Fire Dweller that resides in scorching fires and lava..._

"That explains why I couldn't detect the Mutt, The fire over there is a perfect a hiding place," Cato muttered out loud. Gale and Katniss shared the Holo for the rest of the information.

"So it hates water right?" said Gale. Cato shrugged. "Probably but your arrows seem to have more effect on them," Cato answered. Katniss had decided that she and the team should move back to the underground with the rest of the troop.

They were waiting for them, their heads beaming with small lights. Homes were the last one to seal off the manhole. Cressida had put on her night vision on her video camera and scope around the area.

They're in a dark web of tunnels, Katniss gulped hard to swallow her mad anxiety as she took charge of the directions for a refuge point. "If anyone wants to back out...now is the time," spoke Katniss, looking at her fellow comrades.

There was silence in the tunnel except for the water dripping. She took this silence as an answer and told them to move out behind her.

Cato took charge at the rear, positioning his rifle. Gale and Mitchell are in front of him, they too are triggered in high alert. The darkness is not really their friend. In fact, Leeg 1 stopped cold when a rat scurried beneath her feet. Jackson shot it though she's not taking any chances that it'll grow fangs.

Several miles later, they took a brief rest by a huge segment of an archway.

The Squad ate enough of their morsel of food and drank their water skins to get the muscle energy. Jackson had sunk her teeth on a chicken leg.

"Mmhm, I never tasted chicken since I was girl," said Jackson, savouring a mouthful. Leeg 1 and Homes agreed because they were born in 13 and they never had much rarity of meat except groosling and rabbit.

Meanwhile, Katniss, Gale and her equal Commander (Cato) are in a secluded circle. The three are discreetly conversing on any ideas the can get to a quicker route. They've checked every manhole with the help of Cressida's periscope earlier. The streets above are armed and ranked with Peacekeepers and they were no where near their refuge point.

"We walked for miles and the map isn't working..." Katniss mumbled.

Cato wondered. "_Could those numbers be the right coordinates?" _ But he remembered that Boggs want it to keep it his secret only so they're not coordinates. He thinks he canmaybe pry it when she fell asleep... well if they can get out of here without getting spotted.

"Pollux can help us out," said Cressida, overhearing Katniss's exchange of ideas.

Cato turned blindly at the girl with the camera. Gale said nothing but will hear Cressida out. Katniss blinked but whipped her head at Pollux. "Can you help us find the right route to our refuge point, it's this fur store and we have good ally that can help us,"

Pollux nodded while Castor translated for him. "He's sure of a tunnel route that can lead to it and it's not that far." Katniss smiled for a second towards Pollux and put the map away in her belt. Cato sighed and thanked Pollux with a pat on the back.

Five minutes later, Cato told the squad to pack up and set off as it was his turn to lead with Pollux.

Without prior notice of the Squad, a strange eye cropped up by the shadows. Slowly blinking. However the eye had melted to the wall and it was gone.

* * *

**The **squad halted behind a metal ladder as their search for a retreat is almost over. Cressida and Mitchell checked above with the Periscope. The street is utterly deserted as a newspaper rolled on the road.

Convinced, Homes and Mitchell climbed the ladder first. Just as they were about to drill out the bolts, Katniss stopped them by tugging one of their ankles. "Commander, what's your problem," Homes hissed.

"shhh, they're coming," she mouthed, pointing at the small screen. Two military cars are speeding up above them.

The Squad remain still and quiet as they past. However some of the dust settled on Mitchell's nose. "Sneeze or I'll shoot you," Jackson hissed, her hand gun raised at him. The blast of the exhaust pipe had faded away but they stay quiet for a moment or two.

Finally, Katniss gave the all clear and climb up the ladder first while loosened the bolts off the lid. "Anyone coming, Cressida?" she asked. Cressida looked up at her from screen. "No, nothing,"

"Right, we better go before they come back," Katniss replied and slid the lid off. Daylight had burst bright on them. "Gale, Commander Anderson you'll cover me first." she demanded, now already on high ground.

Gale followed her first while Cato caught up seconds later. "Hey, help me up moron," said Finnick, almost slipping from the ladder. He lifts Finnick up. "Good thing I've changed my mind or I'd left you down here," Cato taunted dryly.

"I hope that's not the plan, Anderson?" Katniss pointed out.

Moments later the others got out of the underground tunnels and breathed the clean air. Katniss looked at the squad in front of them. There is too much of her rebel soldiers in one street. Enemy planes could shoot them right now that they're jam-packed together.

So she has no choice but to separate them. "Right, Jackson you'll lead the troop to these alleyways while a select few can patrol the street,"

At first, Jackson looked at her suspiciously but can't deny leading her troop even if it was temporary. .

"Finnick, Gale and Cato you're with me, We're Foxtrot One...does the trackers work Mitchell?" Katniss asked, hoping the trackers worked.

Mitchell nodded. "Yes, all you have to do is add them in the metal plate of your watches,"

Katniss sighed. "Any objections of my plan or would like to follow me on street patrol?"

The rest of the squad didn't speak out or walk to pursue street patrol. Their faces were set rigid. Cressida told Castor, Messalla and Pollux to stay with them. They didn't object either. Mitchell had fused the trackers that all are the same size of a small coin.

After preparing their watches, Foxtrot One and Two had prepared to move out and made their separate ways to different points.

Never knowing what's in the other side...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"**So** Commander Everdeen, Operation Black? Are you going to do it alone?" said Cressida as Foxtrot One trek out into the street.

Katniss Everdeen paused, her face forewarn about the dangers around her. "I will go alone," said Katniss, not looking at the camera. "Alone as my poor deranged mother who had joined with the ashes of 12,"

Gale silently squeezes her shoulder for reassurance. Katniss glanced at him for his gratitude and returned her pace.

Cato didn't look up from the Holo Grid as he constantly watched the tiny green dots; he's totally oblivious of what's happening in his team. Cressida didn't interview her anymore instead she interviewed Finnick on his views of Operation Black. Irritated, Finnick had given a false smile as he ruffled his hair and said:

"My views wouldn't make any difference to the Commander; she is willing to do what was set up,"

Cressida looked at them unhappily and slammed the main camera with anger. Cato rolls his eyes and turn up the earpiece more as he listened carefully to what the other half are doing. Nothing strange had detected. He walked at least two miles with his team as they scoped the dark corners.

However, an hour later...something wasn't right. He had lost connection with Foxtrot two! He double checked the grid; although nothing was seriously wrong, Cato has to know what's going on with the audio. He turned his earpiece on and off but all he can hear is static.

"Cressida, can you come here please," he said coolly. Cressida followed suite, her face set on curiosity. "Yes Commander,"

"Can you reroute the earpiece? I'm not picking anything auditory from Foxtrot Two," he muttered towards her. Cressida had steadily fiddled with earpiece for a few minutes as Cato stared eagle-eyed at the grid.

"I got it, Commander Anderson..." She confirmed brightly. However her lips quivered as she picked it up close to her ear. "Hold on, I'm hearing something."

Cato and Cressida both listened carefully. He can hear a faint scuttling sound. "Commander, look!" Cressida gasped, pointing at the blinking red dots on the grid. "Identify them," Cato ordered the Holo.

The map was analysing slowly. "Grr! Hand me the earpiece, Cressida!"

She gave it too him, eyes flickering uneasily. He crammed it in his ear and put his wrist towards his mouth. "Mitchell, abort...find us now!" Cato hissed to his watch.

"_What're you on about, Commander?"_ uttered Mitchell's voice. "Why did you stop, Anderson?" Katniss Everdeen declared. Cato didn't listen as he ordered loudly to his wristwatch. "Mitchell, tell the troop to get out of here immediately!"

Katniss snatched the Holo and looked at the Map. Her heart went cold while she went numb from what she had found. Katniss hitched his arm and yelled;

"Mitchell, get out now...They're coming,"

She can hear Jackson ordering Mitchell to give up the watch. _"What's going on, Commander?"_ Jackson inputted. "Do as I say Jackson! Abort now!" Katniss retorted angrily.

The transmission paused dramatically as the two commanders listened in. Something crackled in the background. "What the hell is that-" Jackson breathed.

Suddenly, there was a burst of gunfire and their troop had screamed. Katniss heard something startling...It was a sickly rupture of a neck bone. She felt a presence of Gale, standing between Cato and Cressida.

He stared at her. She knew in her mind that he's going in there. Before she can walk towards him, Gale disappeared into a run towards the building gap. "GALE, NO!" Katniss screamed, speeding up so she can catch up. But she was stopped by Cressida and Finnick as they cling onto her back.

"NO!" she screamed.

"_Help, Man down...Jackson," _uttered a weak voice in Cato's earpiece.

He moved in and told Cressida and Finnick to break it up. They reluctantly followed his orders. Katniss was about to run forward but Cato prevented it by his strong embrace. "No, it's too dangerous,"

"He needs me, let me go!" she cried loudly and punched his stomach. Cato didn't wince. "I'm going instead and I'll round up the others,"

Katniss had stopped her struggling. "What?" she muttered. Cato had let go as he reloads his rifle and gives Katniss the earpiece. "I'll be back for him," he said, looking deeply in her grey eyes. She searched in his eyes for the truth but she encountered something in her abdomen.

"Hey guys, this has been fun." said Cato to the rest of his team as he set off to the trail.

Time freezes up for Cato as he entered the cold and dark alley. _"Protect the Squad," _repeated the voice of his deceased Commander in his head. "I will," he muttered repeatedly, moving to the designated paths that Katniss ordered.

"_I must be near them by now!"_ He thinks desperately.

Cato thought all hope was lost as he paused to drink his water skin. _"Cato-"_ worded the crackled voice of Katniss. Without warning, he can hear distant screams from the north. He followed them in a quick run.

And as he turned a corner, he saw...

"Hawthorne!"

Cato saw him backed against the wall at this huge mutated winged-creature. It tried to reach Gale's head with its ugly incisors. "NO! GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU BASTARDS!" Cato cried, grabbing the hilt of his sword and chopped its head off.

A dull _flop _had hit the puddle as the body writhed on the ground, oozing acidic green blood. Gale scoffed with disbelief, grabbed his crossbow and patted Cato on the back.

"Break it up," he sneered, playfully.

Their little bromance moment was over as the rapid gunfire and the loud war cries had returned back to their senses. Gale and Cato ducked down and spotted the present soldiers behind a weak barricade of shoddy metal and bits of wood.

"They're too powerful! How're we going to escape- Commander Anderson, Gale...another surprise?!" said Mitchell, reloading ammo.

Cato stopped dead to see an arm where the huge mutated moths had crowded while they devoured the rest of the body. He recognised that arm with a tattoo of 13.

_Jackson is dead._

One of the eyeless moths was ogling him as it slobbered human blood from its incisors. Cato shot the bastards in anger. "_Have she suffered enough, President Snow? When're you going to stop!" _he thinks.

Suddenly his exposed ankle brushed onto something cold. Turning slowly, Cato saw something that made his face stir ghostly white. Lying there with their eyes milk-white was Pollux and Denver.

Everything around him froze as though time is slowing down. _"I let you down, Boggs," _he thinks sadly as he closes the eyelids of the unfortunate dead.

"We need to get out of here, I'm running out of medic supplies!" Homes shouted, binding the gauze on Leeg 1's shoulder and waist. She's shaking in high-fever and her eyes seem to droop.

The Squad fired at the warped and very hungry moths but they were swarming in twice numbers. "They'd follow us though if we try to make a run for it!" Messalla yelled.

From nowhere, a sharp whistle of a grenade had dropped in the bleak alley space where the moths doubled in large numbers. "TAKE COVER!" Cato cried at his squad and defended Leeg 1 as a human shield. All of them clamped their ears as they braced for impact.

_Bang! _

Dirt and crumbling bricks were shooting up in the air as the ground shifted for a few seconds.

It stopped. Gale peeked from the gap of the barricade. "What is it, Hawthorne?" said Cato, evaluating with caution. "Those mutts are retreating but I think they left their eggs?"

"I think we have company guys," Mitchell whispered, jerking his head up towards one of the building roofs. The Squad looked up in high alert to see six dark figures, heavily armed and clad with capitol armour. _"No—Not now—not now when we got so close to our goal," _Cato thinks.

"Hey down there! Draw back now," vented one of them, removing the visor. "Harley! I'm very glad to see you," Mitchell grinned broadly.

"Stop grovelling Mitchell and get your team out of here before they sprout again!"

Cato, Gale and the others race back to the alleyways. Leeg 1 was carried on Homes' back as they got in for cover. Another bang had shaken the ground as this bright light flashed behind them. "All clear,"

The men in capitol armour are chatting confidently and removed something from their belts. "Grapple hooks? Showing off again," Mitchell smirked as the men roll down towards them. The one with the visor open is a man with a serious smile as some sunlight shone his dark skin.

"Mitchell, old friend..." he said, shaking Mitchell's hand firmly. "Not that old, Harley," Mitchell cringed slightly at the rough handshake. Harley stopped towards Cato, his eyes sombre looking.

"Brendon, can you treat our fellow solider,"

Brendon, the faithful right hand man had taken out his medical kit and slab on the Nanocrystals on Leeg 1's wounds. It was slowly working as Homes put on some new gauze. "Commander Anderson..."

"Sir," Cato muttered.

"Don't worry, we just got back from infiltrating the base by wearing their armour," Harley assured him with a wistful smile...

* * *

_**A/n-**__ Sorry guys if I ended there at a bad time and giving you more cliff hangers that I shouldn't...thank you for reading and I'll update the next chapter soon _


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**Alone** with Cressida and Finnick, Katniss Everdeen had felt her stomach turning while she waited in agony. The explosion she saw earlier had inflicted her with horrible and painful thoughts as the smoke climbed up towards the cloudy sky.

"Finnick, we need to get in there," she blurted, making Cressida and Finnick jump very uneasily. He turned to her, thinking along the same lines.

"Your right, they could be injured or suffered a worse fight," said Finnick, nodding to agree. Before Cressida could permit to say anything, she saw a throng of military figures that appeared from the dark pathway.

Like lightening, Katniss was ready to pull the string and strike when necessary.

However, the military figures had shown fully under the dim sunlight of their recognisable faces. She lowered her bow and saw that Finnick did the same with his trident.

"_Gale!"_ she muttered while the heavy burden had lifted off her shoulders. But that stopped when she saw his armour stripped in huge chunks of his arms and torso. There was little blood but she was worried that it could embed inside his organs.

Katniss couldn't run after him since the team are coming out all at once. Very suddenly, her stomach twisted horribly to not see the familiar strong built solider that always marched with them.

"_Where is he?"_ Katniss pondered, craning her neck enough to catch a proper glimpse.

But she saw something that made her skin crawl...there are six unrecognisable faces, clad with the exact white uniform that the Peacekeepers wore. Katniss knew in somewhere that Anderson couldn't be trusted and was the enemy all along.

"_It must be his hair, that's why I'm not hard on Anderson on what he truly is..."_

Katniss, Finnick and Cressida had held up their signature weapons. The team paused while they reluctantly hold their hands up high. Finnick was first to walk towards them, trident propped halfway towards the Peacekeepers.

Katniss and Cressida are behind him, looking anxiously at each other. "Finnick, stop...it's alright, they are on our side," said Anderson, standing in front of him.

"Don't listen to him...He's the enemy!" Katniss blurted, jabbing the tip of her arrow to Anderson's neck. He didn't move. "Katniss, Cato is not the enemy...he wanted Snow dead because he was about to kill you both when you survived as victors," Finnick explained with a steady hand on his trident.

"Yeah because he killed Peeta to do it and I was saved by the rebels before he could-"

"Something is wrong here," said the bulky Peacekeeper, extracting his Holo from his left chest pocket. Katniss aimed the arrow towards the Peacekeeper instead. "Where did you get that? Did you steal off a Commander?"

"I 'am the Commander...I'm Harley, leader of 342," said the Peacekeeper, sliding his visor off to see a kind face.

She lowered her bow but didn't let go just of her weapon just yet. However, she recognised him surely as the burnt patient that Prim renews his dressing's everyday and set lovely flowers over his bedside table.

"I recognise you-" Katniss muttered.

"I'll explain all this later," said the fire victim, typing on the Holo with fast fingers. His men are awaiting his orders but did not do anything that would make them the enemy.

Suddenly, she flinched to see a hand on her shoulder. She turned...it was Gale. "Trust them Katniss, they saved us from those mutts...if it wasn't for them." he whispered.

Katniss had put all of her trust in Gale completely as looked at the sombre faces of her team. Three were missing; she already assumed they are dead. "We have to go to Tigris quick, they will send extra pods by sun down,"

"Where's Pollux?" Cressida asked Castor. He shook his head as his eyes leaked with a few tears. Messalla bowed his head down. Katniss looked at them and spoke without her brain's permission.

"He was a brave camera man and solider, I wont forget his bravery that had brought us here if it wasn't for his intellect for the tunnels,"

The rest of the team looked at Katniss solemnly. "Oh yeah...sure, it was on your orders," said Leeg 1, grinding her teeth. Mitchell hissed at her to keep quiet. But Leeg 1 refused and ranted more about how Jackson died worse than the other two.

Katniss stood there speechless and withered like a shadow under the sunflower.

"Shut it, soldier, " Anderson hissed fiercely. Leeg 1 paused and stared at him dumbfounded. She was about to speak up again but Anderson had beat her to it.

"Do you expect those deaths would die fairly or with dignity under Snow's evil restraint, No. Katniss is sorry for everyone's losses but she will go through this again and again to make Snow pay with his blood."

Everyone (including Harley) had stopped what they are doing for a moment and stared at him. "Coin didn't assign me and Katniss to assassinate Snow," he sighed as though to get something off his chest.

"Anderson, stop!" Katniss whispered stealthily in his ear. He didn't listen.

"We lied about that and didn't we disappoint you all with our leadership? No...All of you somewhere knew we are cut out for it,"

The troop except Leeg 1 murmured to agree with him. "You are still one of us Leeg 1, like it or not...you want to see Snow's head for this."

"Touching speech, Commander but we better go to Tigris before sun down," interrupted Harley, ordering his men to pack up their weapons and prepare to move out. Katniss quietly let Anderson to instruct the Squad as they follow Harley and his soldiers stealthily to a few cramped shortcuts and head towards the hide out...

* * *

**Tigris **is a helpful collaborator that owns a furred underwear shop and used the secret trapdoor as a base for the rebels. Of course, there were vast supplies of food and water to last them if another global disturbance appears.

They all set up quite homely there as they raid in tin cans and quench their thirst until they are satisfied. Hours later, Cato, Katniss and Harley are ready to discuss the plan to assassinate Snow with the troops.

The troops gathered in a circle and watched them very carefully.

"What me and my men found out," said Harley, the first one to speak of the Co-Commanders behalf. "Is that Snow never leaves his mansion without his Peacekeepers. We was thinking of being the men under his protection but he's really wary these days,"

"So what are we going to do then if we can't get him out of there?" spoke Finnick, wistfully.

It was now Katniss's turn to talk as she looked directly at Finnick. "We'll have to go in there ourselves...Thanks to the information Commander Harley gave us, Snow will broadcast to his citizens within two days time that they can seek refuge there,"

Cato drawled on next as he crossed his arms and gazed distantly for a second. "So we'll disguise as civilians of capitol but its not going to be easy because it will be swarming with Peacekeepers,"

"Then you guys will be peacekeepers to let us in," Mitchell proclaimed, already figured out the rest of the plan. "Brilliant," Holmes nodded, confirming the plan with his neighbour.

"Yes but we have one problem," Harley declared warningly. "There are two highly secured hubs towards the mansion, the codes will be hard to get—especially if they changed them constantly."

"What should we do then?" implored the young shoulder in Harley's team. "It means that the soldiers who'll be the citizens will have to go alone so they can disable the security and that is when the real work begins..." Harley smiled.

* * *

**Everyone** had set up their sleeping bags as Cato stared at this boring blinking light next to him. He was so close of being the true image of what Katniss would see and hoped she could remember. Yet that failed and he's had to start from scratch.

Cato was being really cold towards her then that he'd admit. He saved what he can with his fellow soldiers from an intense combat and he came back with a sharp arrow under his chin? How is he still defending her after what she said about those lies at what happened at the Arena?

Sadly, Cato doesn't know the answers as he tried to drift off to sleep...

Yet two hours later, he woke up. Cato stared blindly in the darkness while his vivid nightmare had tricked his vision. He got out of his sleeping bag and went towards this imaginary forest.

"Cato?" queried the sombre voice. He looked around to see someone sitting on a decaying wood. The guy looked mature and was holding a machete that dripped blood. "Get back!" Cato yelled, extending his arms tightly with his sword.

Suddenly, Cato felt cold and wet as the influence of his nightmare had vanished completely. He looked around quizzically and saw his friends surrounding him.

"You're alright man," Finnick asked. Cato looked down with shame as he looked at Gale...nursing his thin cut on his arm. "He didn't think less of you, Cato...you were in that place."

"Your alright, Anderson...you're not going to kill anyone now aren't you?" said Katniss, staring at him cautiously. He felt very cold and it wasn't his wet T-shirt that clung on to his chest. It was the matter of his soft heart; therefore he took his sleeping bag and lay on the isolated corner. But someone was standing inches away from him and whispered;

"_You're not alone..."_


	7. Chapter 7

The Lone Wolf II: Let the Games Continue

By: YingYang13

**Chapter Seven**

**Although **there was no need to apologise to Gale about last night, Cato still felt guilty about his no self control during his dream state. When morning came as troop 451 had served breakfast, Gale had scraped a spare piece of bacon onto his plate and talked harmoniously with his Co-Commander.

However, Cato didn't know what to do with it even if his stomach had a different idea. "Don't make me force it down your throat," said Gale, crossing his arms in a care-free fashion.

"F-Fine," he replied, yanking it in his teeth. Sitting next to Gale, Katniss watched them with perplexity. "Hey—er Anderson, don't feel bad about it—Gale is like tree, nothing can hurt him,"

He gulped all of it and washed it down with some water mixed with ale. "Did Haymitch contact you with any news lately, Everdeen?" he asked, changing the subject. Cato doesn't want to hear anything cutesy about her hunting partner.

She frowned slightly. "There's nothing to report about over there, I just wanted to hear that Prim and the rest of thirteen are okay,"

"What about Coin, I have a feeling that she tried to trap us back when we where at the wrong battlefield," Cato shrugged, borrowing the Holo from her arm. He was tempted to tap the numbers that was so determined be to Boggs' last dying secret.

"I tried to get it out of him but he wasn't answering." Katniss sighed.

"I think he wants to be careful that he's won't be overheard Catnip,"

Changing the subject again, the three talked about the plan that will take place tomorrow morning where the citizens of Capitol are going to seek refuge over the President's house. Harley and Squad 342 had made their separate ways so they could play their part as Peacekeeper's for tomorrow.

"I hope this is worth it, guys...it's our last shot,"

"Again, why can't I come with you? I'm really useful!" Leeg 1 shouted. She winced in pain as she clutched her waist. The wound wasn't healing fully despite it was cured with a huge batch of Nanocrystals.

"I'm sorry, Leeg 1 but you'll slow us down when we get to full attack mode," Katniss replied calmly. Leeg 1 slammed her hands on the tarnished coffee table and tried to flip it over. Mitchell and Homes got there in time before she could do an even worse injury with her wound.

They put her over the camp bed and slab as many Nanocrystals over her bruised waist while she protested quietly. Cato raised his eyebrows and drank more of that water mixed ale.

"Did you guys hack anything to see what's happening over at 13?"

"We did found something for about a minute—it was a crappy signal, Messalla was 100% sure that Beetee gave a verbal coded message," Cressida countered with some doubt in her words. He nodded and looked at the number pad on the Holo.

Swayed by the fact that he should know what the top secret is, Katniss has punched his arm to get his full attention.

"What's up with you, Anderson—you're not hesitating are you?"

Cato rubbed his arm sorely and lied through the interrogation. "Did you want to see what Boggs want you to know then?" she asked indifferently. He double blinked. He knew she can't be talking exactly about the secret in the Holo.

"I know, C-Cato...even when he's dying I can read lips,"

Cato turned around to see that Gale had moved away. "Put the numbers in then, I want to know—since Boggs was all over it to protect me,"

He rejected the idea though she forced him strongly to do so. The two moved over to selected corner behind the huge containers of water. _"__75122," _he muttered, putting in the numbers. Suddenly, the map was wiped clean and Cato discovered that the person looking at them is Boggs.

_Attention to the fit Commander of the 451 Squad, If you are watching this...I' am in confident that I'm dead._ There was a short pause there although he sighed deeply and resumed talking. _ Right, I have witnessed something that I know I shouldn't, The Mockingjay is a corrupted plan right from the start._

Cato and Katniss had tilted their heads slightly close to the screen, so engrossed what their late commander is going to say. _During that month when 12 was bombed, Miss Everdeen was holed up in a very private ward and had suffered intense trauma when her grief for her mother and the people in 12 was a turning point. In a few days, she was improving so drastically that it was strange that she wasn't discharged during that week if she appeared normal and sounded fine._

_It wasn't until during her training that Katniss Everdeen was missing in her bunk bed and always stopped in the private ward until morning came. One day, I investigated the ward and found a bright blue runny substance on the floor. Picked it up and analyse it, it turned out to be Tracker Jacker fluid. I confronted Coin about it but she denied it. So I kept digging into her files and there's a lot of loose information-bzzt-bzzt- _

Cato tried to unscramble the footage but it continued to fizzle out. _Don't trust Coin-crackle-she's the enemy—bzzt._

The picture froze for a second and faded into pure blackness as it regained to the map graphics. The two Commanders blinked and didn't talk for quite some time. He didn't want to make eye contact towards Katniss to know what happened.

"She—corrupted my mind, my head," she breathed, hugging her legs in a tight grip.

Tears were rolling in her eyes as her hands reach to her bare arms while she pierces them with her sharp nails. "I killed someone—Agrhhh!"

Katniss couldn't speak; she felt her head burning like someone had poured acid into her brain as she writhed on the floor. "No-Coin—please—they're just children—Help—Peeta—Cato!" she cried, following the unbearable pain that will slowly consume her body.

But it was stopped when one simple sting on her shoulder had doused the fire while the true reality had been swiped clean and was wrapped in the deep consciousness...

* * *

**During **her undisturbed slumber as the daylight truly faded into an evening from the small glass vent, Cato and Gale are whispering a discussion about what happened to Katniss earlier. The two were sitting down, gulping their share in water. "How can I be so stupid?" Gale muttered, tugging his hair in frustration. "I ridiculously thought that she had a morphlin overdose and it consumed her to believe in her hallucinations."

"You were half right, man—if I was at least patient or more understanding—she couldn't hate me right away," Cato responded sullenly.

"It's not your fault that she hates you, its Coin and this woman is up to something, If the worst comes-Katniss would-"

"Hey, guys," said Finnick, pulling up the floor. "Oh, Odair—what is it?" Gale asked coolly to his fellow soldier. Cato can see that his usual tanned skin changed to a rather pale complexion as though he's reliving something horrible.

He turned his head slightly to Katniss and then glare at his friends with a rather serious aura emitting his body.

"The people think she's crazy. But she's not—she is strong and brave to face what is out there, My Annie," he sighed heavily and suddenly turned towards Cato. "Getting to know one another is half the battle, Katniss needs your trust even if she does not want it, no matter how hard she fights it-You can't run away when something is that difficult,"

Cato shook his head. "What are you talking about, sugar lump—do you get this Gale?"

His friend chuckled and patted his shoulder. "I think you have an advantage over me, Katniss is interested in you,"

"Pfft, what...Can we at least see a point on what we should do to protect her?" He shrugged, thinking that there are other things going on with Katniss right now. Finnick put a knife to his neck as he rolled his eyes.

"Don't you get it, she deserves you-all this warped false memories are still you and _you_ will break enough to see who the true betrayer is,"

A little blood trickled out of Cato's neck but Finnick had let him go while Gale had slab the Nanocrystals where the little slit is.

Cato didn't say anything to his fellow soldiers the entire night. Yet the only silence his squad can succumb was President's Snow Broadcast and that was about it. He proposed to stay with Katniss in case she won't fall into one of those fits again. Cato propped up his sleeping bag and lay in it.

However, he could not bring himself to sleep. The topic of what happened today is too strong a power to rest his tired eyes. _"This is my war now—after I'll kill Snow, I'll kill Coin too..."_

* * *

**Dawn **had broken out over the ruined houses and shopping districts in the Capitol Centre as all evacuees walk towards the President's Mansion. All of them are shaking even though they have fur coats to keep themselves warm. Katniss Everdeen peeked under the blinds to see a peculiar old man wearing colourful silk night clothes under his ridiculous moulting green feathered coat.

She stopped looking when an anxious-looking mother is guiding a little blonde girl who almost saw Katniss behind the closed shop window. Squad 451 are in their disguises while they say their grave goodbyes to who they have to leave behind.

Mitchell decided to stay with Leeg 1 and the television crew to send in reinforcements. "Good luck," Cressida smiled bleakly and patted Katniss's shoulders.

She nodded back at her with grim/brave face. "You too,"

Katniss and Cato and the rest of the squad had thanked Tigris kindly for offering the shelter here. And they're ready to take on the enemy that is living comfortably inside that mansion...

* * *

A/n—Thanks for all the reviews and those who followed and favourited my story and the previous one. I hope you like this chapter xD


	8. Chapter 8

The Lone Wolf II: Let the Games Continue

Chapter Eight

_-Cato's Narration- _

**This **is it, our chance to sneak in the President's Mansion. Prior to the plan, we all have to wear these moulting and trashy clothes to cross through the horde of people. Unlike Homes's normal and untouched face, Tigris and Cressida had gone through a whole hour to disguise mine. "You barely look threatening," Cressida awed, touching up my face with a smelly bronzer brush.

In my mindset, I wanted to inflict enough pain on her wrist so she won't _highlight _my face again.

However, this make-up thing had had its uses when this bulky Peacekeeper roughened me up and had put me aside. "Dead Right," said Homes in a gruff whisper. Following his warning, we casually walk to the left and joined the throng of sad-looking refugees.

My chest would stop and then restart at these hostile situations like this. I keep getting the feeling that the plan would uncover too soon. Homes and I have been only walking for the past eight minutes and I still don't see any sign of anyone of our regiment.

"_Hmm, I'd guess our disguises are too good to mislead the ones who you should look for?" _I guessed vaguely.

BANG!

_What?! What is happening! _ People are scattering away from the far front and shrieking in panic. I look over there to see what emerged there.

"_Katniss," _I thought, running over there. But I was heavily blocked by the public and I couldn't get a glimpse of this temporary guarded barricade. "Be off, ugly this isn't citizenry business," spoke the sneering Peacekeeper, jabbing me back in line with his gun.

"I've saw the whole thing," muttered an old man with a wacky beard, talking to someone behind me. "It's the ruined building that couldn't take the weight and crushed the poor souls."

My spine tingled. Seeing what happened made me feel more uneasy than I was before. I try to glance around the area without being too suspicious and I can't find a familiar face. No choice in this, I trod with them.

It only took about a minute to see Snow's Mansion in the distance. _Its the Halfway point! _ Hmm, all the Peacekeepers are on the platforms. Which one is on our side?

"Psst,"

Huh, did this humped lady in a hood say something? I ignored her, hoping she'd get the message but she kept track on me. I try to walk a little faster yet she hiked briskly for an old hag. However, this all made sense when she whistled the same tune back in the arena...

_Katniss!_

I'm so relieved, thank god! "Are you supposed to be with...Y'know," I murmured.

"He was captured and took the nightlock," she whispered, keeping a weary eye out of our enemies. I felt cold. The last of I saw him was a murky but sexy smile through the curtains that was no less than twenty minutes ago. "Is he really-" I asked cautiously.

"In minutes—I can see how limp he was and his eyes were unblinking before they..."

This coldness turned to unrelenting anger in seconds. Too many good people are dying in our hands...what would the girl back home think? My mind is with-

BOOM!

_What was that?!_ Katniss and I were caught off guard to witness a smoky explosion just off centre. I see clumps of dead people. "MOMMY!" I know this voice must've belonged to a young girl, crying like the rest of them.

The noise of people screaming and crying has intensified as they sprint ahead towards the mansion. I grab hold of Katniss's hand and avoid being trampled until another voice had stopped the tracks.

"KATNISS!"

We turned around and see Gale. He looked ragged and we can distinguish his clear face. "Gale!" she cried out. Suddenly, one of the Peacekeepers had seized his arms and beat him repeatedly. I froze in a spot not knowing what to do.

"Cato—C'mon we got to save him!" Katniss shouted, trying to drag me from my stupor. "Hey, you!" said one of the peacekeeper's. _Slap!_

I reverted back to my original state and we both sprint forwards with the other citizens. Eventually, they couldn't get us when Katniss and I hid in-between houses. I panted hard and felt a stitch in my torso.

Katniss looked bleak and didn't trust this alley way. We could get shot by the roof above us or get cornered by the guards. She got out the Holo from under her jumper. I glanced away and felt the red heat on cheek burning me.

"There's a short cut there," she pointed out. I nodded and followed her quickly when she hid the Holo again. _Wait—is Katniss okay? I mean she did just witness best boy-friend..._

"Gale is fine Cato; don't walk on eggshells around me," she huffed with the same irritableness back at the hideout. I rolled my eyes and this nagging pressure was lifted off my shoulders. We pace stealthily towards our short cut and examine the path for traps. "Everdeen, do you really want to y'know, that thing that we're doing?" I muttered, thinking we're still watched.

"Yes, we can't back out now," she snarled, flipping her plait to her shoulder. "I know that," I said when I uphold my argument. "But I don't think you should do it."

Katniss halted though wouldn't turn her back. "I do not like the idea to harm anyone—but he destroyed everything I hold dear," she whispered.

"I know," I grumbled, walking ahead of her. "Why are you being like this?" Katniss spoke coldly. I kept my silence, I've said too much. Katniss is probably proposing a plan to double cross me. However, I rather have her hate me even if it kills me.

"Cato, you're not really spy aren't you," she asked. I didn't say anything. Katniss can't remember this life of me now even if I wanted to.

Over time, we reached the end of our shortcut and slipped in with a big group of families in tackier clothing than ours. _We're reaching closer to the house that was celebrated for death of many._ However, there's a barrier that is guarded with Capitol military men.

"Pods," I whispered to Katniss. Two trenches are full of them. "Harley," she whispered, nodding her head towards the one with a small crack on his helmet. "Children first, children first," cried one o the guards as they guide carefully through the trench. I felt a knot in my stomach. _This is wrong_. He should lead the refugees in this narrow pathway than do this.

"Oi, you there!" spoke...Harley. _Please let it be him_. We didn't move as he marched towards us. "Only children first!"

We moved as we told and slipped me something when he hit me on the head. Gah, it hurts though I got the note from him. He got us the codes for one the security door. _Dun-dun-dun-_ suddenly a loud gunfire had spread on our direction.

It didn't hit us though it hit Harley and a couple of refugees..."He's okay—had only hit the shoulder," Katniss whispered. But this shocked me, she could've died. I don't care about my life. I seized her hand, thinking of her safety. "You're coming with me-" I hissed.

Yet someone is shouting: "I'LL KILL YOU SON'S OF BITCHES!"

Katniss turned around and we saw Leeg 1...firing her gun at the enemy. This is suicide. _She's going to get killed!_

"You're not going anywhere," spoke a gruff voice, cocking something metal against my head...

* * *

A/N- I know its been ages for me to update-Sorry not sorry- please-pretty please review this story xD or at least this chapter killed it in two days!


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